Mattias Skjelmose the leader for Denmark at World Championships; Mads Pedersen a domestique and thinking of 2029 home race - "Will I retire then? Yes, it could be"
Cycling
Denmark is heading to the World Championships with less chances than last year. Magnus Cort Nielsen doesn't arrive with good form, whilst Mads Pedersen will take on the race as a domestique in a climber-suited course, thinking of Mattias Skjelmose's chances.
Pedersen, who admitted that he would prefer a domestique role at this race for his teammate Mattias Skjelmose, focused more on the big goals that he has remaining in his career. Some of them being the monuments: "I still have some unfinished business with the monuments," he said in a pre-race press conference. Furthermore, the 2029 World Championships will take place in Denmark and he is very eager for that.
"It's going to be great. I once missed the World Championships at home when I was just under 17, but now it's returning to Denmark. It will be an experience I will remember for the rest of my career. Will I retire then? Yes, it could be. You never know; I'll be 34 years old by then."
In the Zurich race, the focus will be on his Lidl-Trek teammate. Mattias Skjelmose, to TV2, actually was happy with having crashed out of the Tour de Luxembourg and returning home to prepare for the Worlds. "...I have trained hard since then and have prepared maybe even better than in Luxembourg. My thought the whole time was that I could prepare better at home, and after the crash, the decision was immediate," he admits.
"I went through it with Kim (Andersen, Lidl-Trek team manager, ed.) on the spot, and we agreed that it was better not to take it any further concerning the World Championships. We believed that I could have prepared just fine in Luxembourg. But because of the preparation I had at home, I can't see that I could have done better."
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